County approves Fairfax cellphone tower despite protests

A hotly contested plan by a telecommunications giant to erect a 50-foot cellphone tower disguised as a tree on a ridge near Boy Scout Camp Tamarancho above Fairfax was approved Tuesday by county supervisors.

Top county officials, upholding a decision by planners, said they had no choice under federal telecommunications law because Verizon Wireless made a compelling case in light of a coverage gap along Sir Francis Drake Boulevard.

A parade of two dozen neighbors rose to make sometimes emotional pleas that the county reject the plan and relocate the tower or require an environmental impact report, but the county's top environmental official said no impact report was required and officials contended they were obligated to issue an approval.

"I'm very unhappy," said Ross Valley Supervisor Katie Rice, saying she understood the concerns of neighbors but added the tower would be nearly a half-mile away from the nearest home and "I don't feel there are grounds to deny it. ... I feel obliged to approve it."

The board called for ongoing monitoring of cell tower electromagnetic emissions before voting unanimous approval, upholding a similar vote by the Planning Commission.

Neighbors led by Mark Fiore and Nancy Morita appealed the commission decision and pooled money to hire their own planning consultant, whose report cited a number of discrepancies and concluded that Verizon's "inconsistencies, errors and omissions" make findings supporting the project impossible.

But Verizon attorney Paul Albritton said the neighbors' report provided no new information and was "full of little nitpicks" that had little merit. He added the tower plan met county policies, was the least intrusive of a number of alternatives and cleared legal and environmental hurdles.

Neighbors begged to differ, citing emission concerns generated by a powerful cell tower, landslide hazards, an inadequate road, noise and fire hazards as well as the impact on wildlife including the endangered spotted owl, which nests nearby.

Five of three dozen people who spoke indicated support for the plan, including former Sausalito fire chief Steve Bogel, who lives on Manor Road in Fairfax. He cited public safety concerns created by lack of cellphone coverage along more than two miles of Sir Francis Drake Boulevard leading to White's Hill west of Fairfax.

Many of those opposing the project had made their views clear at previous hearings before county planners and a zoning administrator, but several new voices turned out as the neighborhood rallied Tuesday.

Fairfax Councilman Larry Bragman, an attorney speaking as an individual, said "substantial issues" had been raised allowing the county to deny the project. "I do think there's substantial evidence that has to be reconciled by the planning staff," he said, referring to the report commissioned by neighbors. "You are not obligated to approve this," he said.

Realtor Diane Hoffman said "the mother of all towers" posed a "visual and noise blight" that would disrupt the area's tranquility and represented an "affront to Fairfax." And Warren Bell of Bothin Road in Fairfax, who said his idyllic canyon neighborhood is so quiet he can hear a neighbor cough, added that generators and air conditioners that are part of the plan could provide a noise "nightmare."

"Would they want better cell coverage at the risk of their neighbors' health or to wildlife?" wondered Julie Wynn of Fairfax, referring to those who get poor wireless reception.

Others provided emotional assertions of health perils, with one woman saying she has been "fried" by electric emissions and gets "electrocuted in my bed at night" by electromagnetic waves. "You have no idea about what the health effects of this can be," she warned.

But Supervisor Susan Adams noted that health is not a reason that can be used to deny such applications under federal law, and county staff said the neighbors' consulting report added no new information on the matter.

Albritton said construction of the facility could begin next spring.

The plan calls for a "stealth" tree tower site at 1000 Iron Springs Road near a cluster of trees. The 50-foot "monopine" tree will have with 12 panels of antenna disguised as branches. A 1,216-square-foot area will be enclosed by a 6-foot-tall chain link fence and include a 184-square-foot equipment shelter, a standby generator and a 210-gallon fuel tank.

Officials noted that AT&T is interested in using the tree antenna, a move that would require a design review permit application — and could mean more devices attached to the site, or construction of a new site "nearby" as allowed by law.